


family tree

by belgiques



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Iron Man - All Media Types, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Bromance, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Gen, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Past Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Post-Iron Man 1, Team Feels
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-08
Updated: 2016-01-08
Packaged: 2018-05-12 14:05:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,663
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5668681
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/belgiques/pseuds/belgiques
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>On Howard Stark's birthday, Tony deals with everything his father has meant to him, both good and bad. But the people in his life won't let him do it alone.</p>
            </blockquote>





	family tree

**Author's Note:**

> I had this stored on my computer for three years, I think, most of it already written, so I finally managed to finish it. Hope you enjoy!  
> -Elien

To say Pepper had been surprised when Tony had promptly given her the day off, would be an understatement. She hadn't enjoyed a day off since—well, she had trouble even remembering when it had been. (She still refused to call Tony's time in captivity 'time off'. Though technically she'd been put on indefinite leave, she went to the mansion every day. Partly out of habit, partly because she always hoped he'd strut through the door one day like nothing had ever happened. So. Definitely not 'time off'.)

But that day he only had one meeting, which by the time she arrived he'd already been dressed for. Pepper had voiced her surprise—and suspicion—but he'd shrugged it off, claiming he had an idea for a new Iron Man upgrade that he intended to work on all day.

So she left the mansion again at 9:45 am with a hesitant goodbye and a reminder that he could call her if he needed anything. She was so put off that she sat in her car for moment, unsure what to do now. The sun shined brightly amidst a cloudless blue sky and Pepper pondered going to the beach for a while, but eventually decided against it. Tony would mock her for at least a week if she turned up the next day as red as a lobster.

Instead, she drove on to spend a day at a spa. Being Tony Stark's assistant was very rewarding, but also very draining at times. When Iron Man had come along, she'd gotten an extra burden on her already heavy heart.

But she knew, if Tony had given her a day off, he wanted her to relax and recharge her batteries. So that's what she would do.

Therefore, she did her absolute best not to think about the fact that any minute of the day, Tony could be flying off to God-knows-where doing God-knows-what. Actually, she did know what he did out there. The right thing. And good heavens, was she proud of him for that.

She did her absolute best to ignore the fear that sneaked up on her when she thought about the real possibility that Tony was going to face a hardship like Afghanistan again, in other forms and ways.

She did her absolute best not to replay their stupid moment on the stupid dance floor or the stupid balcony, or all other times they (un)knowingly crossed the boss/employee and even the friend/friend line.

'Tried' being the operative word in all of this. Usually, she wasn't one to worry about something so much. Okay, that's a lie. Usually, she wasn't one to worry about one thing for an extended period of time. Or analyze things like she was doing now.

Which made it very obvious to her that this was something she eventually would need to deal with.

So all in all, the spa treatments managed to relax her body, but certainly not her mind.

She figured sleep was like that for Tony.

Pepper was driving towards the city to grab something to eat when her BlackBerry chimed with the tone reserved for dear friends and family. She looked at the screen expecting 'Tony Stark', but was instead met with 'James Rhodes'.

"Hi, James. It's been a while. How are you?" She began, smiling fondly because she knew he would hear it in her voice. And it had indeed been since Tony and his medal ceremony in DC that they'd last spoken — well over four months.

"I'm good. Just got back from a mission in Afghanistan so I wanted to check in. Sorry I couldn't call earlier, it was a back-to-basics mission, I'll tell ya."

"You know we understand, Jim. You try to call when you can. As soon as you're back in the States, we'll all go out for dinner."

He chuckled. That had been a tradition since probably a year after Pepper became Tony's assistant and Happy became his bodyguard/chauffeur—when Rhodey had met them a couple of times and decided that if they were there to stay, they could just as well be his friends.

Sometimes she wondered if it was unhealthy that all of her closest friends were a huge part of Tony's life, and all men. With Natalie—Natasha—gone, she didn't have that many girlfriends to spare.

"It's a date. So, how are your stress levels today, Pepper?"

"I'd say well above average," she replied, trying to keep her tone light but failing, thinking about her inner turmoil.

She heard Rhodey sigh. "Yeah, I'm sorry, Pepper, normally I try to be in California today to spend the day with him but I won't be back until later tonight—"

"Wait, what are you talking about?"

"It's—Pepper, today's the 15th of August," he informed her solemnly, realizing it'd slipped her mind.

She gasped audibly and hit the brakes without warning, causing a fanfare of car honks behind her. She was panicking too much to care.

August 15th. Goddamn. August 15th. How could she have missed this? Howard Stark's birthday.

And suddenly everything fell into place. Tony hadn't sent her on her way for the sake of relaxation. No, he'd done it to get rid of her for the day.

Which was something he'd never done before—before Afghanistan. Before his father's legacy had nearly cost him his life.

She became aware of Rhodey's anxious voice calling out to her as her car still sat in the middle of the road. "Pepper! Pepper, are you still there?"

She swallowed hard, trying to stomp down the wave of sadness that washed over her. She regained her composure as she turned her car around and went on route to the Stark Mansion.

"I—I forgot, Jim. Jesus Christ, how could I've possible lost sight of this?!" she relented, gripping the steering wheel so tightly her knuckles turned white.

"Pepper, where are you right now?"

"He let me go for the day. I'm such an _idiot_ , I should've seen right through it. I hope he hasn't done anything—" She couldn't get the words 'stupid' or 'reckless' past her lips.

"Just calm down. Maybe he _is_ fine, and just wanted to spend the day by himself."

"He has spent many days by himself and he never had to get rid of me to do it. You know as well as I do that this has to do with Afghanistan. Everything does, lately," she tried not to take her frustrations towards herself out on him, but she knew he wouldn't take it personal.

"Alright, just go to him and call me back. And _breathe_ , Pepper. Everything's going to be fine. I texted Happy; he's on his way."

\---

Pepper arrived at the house simultaneously with Happy, which said a lot about all the traffic rules she'd broken on the way over, since Happy lived much closer than her.

They shared an anxious look instead of their usual greetings, as Pepper eased back into Professional Virginia, typed in her security code and stuck her keys in the door with steady hands.

They split up; Happy hurried upstairs while Pepper went straight down to the 'shop. Suddenly she remembered she could just ask JARVIS.

"He is currently in his workshop, Ms. Potts, as you suspected."

The AI didn't comment on his current state, which had to mean he wasn't in any immediate danger. She exhaled sharply and descended the familiar stairs.

There wasn't a single light on in the workshop, but she knew he was there. By her request, JARVIS brought them out of the dark and she heard a distinct grunt from the back of the shop.

She reached him quietly and her heart sank at the sight of him, Iron Man suit fully donned except for the helmet, bottle of scotch in his gauntlet-clad hand and various cuts and bruises visible all over his face.

"Tony?" she called out suddenly—too suddenly, as he reflexively raised his gauntlet and fired, shattering a tablet computer on the nearest bench, spraying shards of glass everywhere. In her attempt to step back, Pepper tripped and fell flat on her back, a glass splinter leaving a gash on her cheek.

She heard Happy approach rapidly, calling out to her. She grunted in discomfort as she tried to shake the shards out of her hair and royal blue dress without cutting herself.

"P—Pepper?" a confused Tony mumbled, registering her presence, halfway through an attempt to push himself upright to help her. The redhead in question was quick to react.

"No, Tony, stay back!"

There was no missing the hint of hurt in his eyes at her sudden yell, so instinctively she backtracked. "I—I don't want you to hurt yourself. Just... Stay there," she added weakly, her plan to be completely professional and _not_ emotional about this already failing.

Tony dropped to the workshop floor with a thud, the nearest bottle already back in his grasp.

The next thing she was aware of was Happy pulling her upright, asking her what'd happened. She waved it off with a dismissive "Nothing serious", wiped the streak of blood off her temple and cheek and set about getting their boss out of the suit. That proved to be more difficult than expected; wherever he'd been, Pepper guessed it hadn't been pretty. She had honestly thought they'd gotten past all this—past this destructive behaviour, this need to shut people out. It saddened her (and she was positive both Happy and Rhodey too) that he suddenly didn't trust them enough to see his weaknesses.

Because the three of them had had their own, only he hadn't been there to see it.

Happy tugged on the bolts of the chest plate JARVIS couldn't remove with all his might, meanwhile Tony was completely silent—which was already too unlike him.

When it was finally pulled off, Pepper gasped at the diagonal cut across his chest where the neoprene suit had been ripped. She looked Tony firmly in the eye.

"Tony, how did you get this? I thought the suit protected you from major injury!"

She fought to keep her voice down, but he was so infuriatingly calm she just—

"Can't really remember. Doesn't matter, I've been through worse."

"Well, I for one haven't seen you in a state worse than this. And coming from me, that's saying something."

"Whatever, _Mom_."

"Boss," Happy suddenly chimed in, his voice curt and icy, only amplified by that tone on his nickname, "don't talk to Pepper like that. She's just trying to help. That's what she always does."

Pepper threw him a thankful smile and mentally pushed 'nurse Tony's wounds' down her to-do list. He was looking at her, though, with practically no emotion on his face. This made it all the more clear to her that he simply had too much to show and didn't know how to. He silently grabbed her fingers, thumb brushing over her knuckles, and she knew enough. She squeezed his hand slightly, turned around determinedly and picked up all the bottles, empty or not, and threw them unceremoniously in the nearest thrash bin. Enough of this, she decided.

\---

After the two of them had successfully guided Tony into the shower of his upstairs bathroom, Pepper set about making him something to eat downstairs while Happy cleaned the glass off the workshop floor. Luckily, a shower always seemed to sober him up rather quickly. Pepper had some time to think until Happy came back up. She realized she needed to get Tony to open up to her about whatever it was that was haunting him. He would never do so in front of Happy, and she was sure he knew that as well. No matter how genuine their friendship was, it had its limits. As did his friendship with Rhodey. She could never truly get a read on them, how much they shared and how much they hid away. _Her_ friendship—or whatever—with Tony had limits too, but more of the... physical kind. And intimate kind. Basically anything involving actual feelings.

She wondered what mission he had gone on today. It couldn't have gone well. She sighed. They couldn't remain in this stand-still for much longer.

Her train of thought was interrupted by Happy calling out her name from across the living room.

"That was Rhodes. He was able to get an earlier flight back. He'll be arriving at Point Magu in half an hour."

"Okay, so you can go get him, right?" Pepper replied, pouring a glass of Coke to go with the sandwich she'd made.

"Well, I thought maybe it'd best if you went," Happy said instead, shuffling uncomfortably, "in case something... happens."

"You mean, to me? Happy, come on, you can't possibly think that?"

"He didn't react so well to you earlier..." he tried, recognizing Pepper's I-will-outnegotiate-you-as-always look.

She almost chuckled at his attempt. "That was an accident! Happy, if there's anything that I'm remotely sure of in this world, it's the fact that Tony would never deliberately hurt me. Nor you, for that matter!"

"But you just said it, 'deliberately'."

She sighed and then grinned up at him, changing her tactics. "Okay then. By all means, be my guest, Happy Hogan. You get him into his clothes. I'll pick Jim up at the airfield."

There was a beat as Happy considered this. Pepper could almost see him caving.

"So should I take the Bentley or the limo?"

Pepper grinned. "That's what I thought," she said, knowing neither of her two friends would enjoy _that_ kind of friendship, "and besides, being 'the famous Pepper Potts', I can handle this. I'll be fine. I've been doing this for more than a decade."

"Fine," Happy conceded, "but you call me if you need help, alright?"

She nodded and let him out the door, telling him to drive safe. Upstairs, she grabbed some clothes for Tony and laid them out on the bed. With a little knock on the bathroom door, she made her presence known.

"Tony, when you're done, come eat something, okay?"

Just as she retreated the door opened with a swing and she found herself face to face with him, shirtless. Pepper's eyes widened instantly at the state of his upper body. Aside from the gash she'd reprimanded him for earlier, the bruises scattered around it left nothing to the imagination.

Her voice was barely above a whisper as she spoke. "What—what happened to you, Tony?"

"You should see the other guys," he replied, not looking at her. Neither one laughed at his attempt at humour.

She wordlessly turned around and walked downstairs, knowing he had to follow her. He let himself fall to the couch, exhaling heavily when Pepper came back with the first-aid kit.

"I'm fine. There's no need for all that," he told her curtly, still looking everywhere but at her.

"Really? You have a gash on your chest that's about four inches long, but you're fine. Sure. Well, I keep saying this and I know it's futile, but one of these days you're going to need to see a doctor, if only to prevent scarring," she reminded him, grabbing an antiseptic wipe.

His hand grabbed her wrist in a death grip before she could get to it.

"Pepper, just get out. I don't need a babysitter."

"Well, then I guess we're having a difference of opinion." Sarcasm wasn't just one of _his_ defense mechanisms.

"I know what I'm doing," he said instead, voice rising.

"Is that so? Then why do I have to spend yet another night fixing you?"

"I didn't ask you to come," he spat, finally pointing his gaze at her (she wished he hadn't), "In fact, I don't recall telling you I wanted you here."

She pushed away the sting of hurt those words brought along. "Well, though luck, you're stuck with me. I just don't want you to do something—"

"Stupid, is that it? Because nearly everything I do is reckless or stupid, isn't it?"

"Don't you _dare_ , Tony," she began, her voice cracking a bit, "Don't you dare put words in my mouth and make it seem like I'm not proud of you for what you're doing, because you _know_ I am, and if you don't, I honestly don't know where we're at. I just don't think it's necessary for Iron Man to go on every mission available, certainly not when you have a best friend who's a Lieutenant Colonel."

"Why can't you understand this? I _have_ to do this. Without this, there is nothing for me to do," he defended, his voice so cold it made Pepper shudder a little.

"What about being here?" she tried, equally fired up now. "We still need you. For some reason though, you can't seem to get that through your thick skull." She walked closer to him, her gaze never faltering. "I know what I signed up for when I became your assistant and when you became Iron Man. I chose to stay, but you better realize that my loyalty has its limits. I refuse to watch you slowly destroy yourself. Because the one thing I will not do is arrange your funeral, Tony. I won't."

She had to look away then, because she refused to let him see her tear-filled eyes. (Too late.) She turned to leave, give herself some time to cool off when her boss spoke again, less firm than before.

"Pepper..."

A sigh. "Tony, come on. Be honest with me here. What is this all really about? You try really hard not to make people care, but _I_ do. Happy does. Rhodey does. Why do you insist on doing this by yourself?"

He remained silent for the longest time and just seemed to stare straight through her. She made to leave again when he suddenly spoke up.

"I destroyed the last of Stark Industries weapons today," he finally muttered, looking down to the floor.

"That's a good thing, right?" she said after a while, surprised that he was opening up to her. "You got it of the hands of people were abusing them."

He scoffed. "Yeah, it's marvellous. I destroyed the last of my father's evil legacy," he replied, bitterness heavy in his voice.

Pepper stepped a bit closer, lowering her voice. "Your father's legacy isn't evil, Tony. He tried to do the right thing—"

"And failed. And then he goes and gets himself and my mother killed and leaves me alone with a man who's bitter because I was given that stupid company."

Pepper was so unused to Tony talking about what he felt that she was mostly at a loss. She understood that it was difficult to remember the good things about someone when you've heard and seen so much of the bad, but she had to try.

"He wanted to make the world a better place for you, Tony. You shouldn't forget that," she told him gently, which seemed to make him pause for a second. He rubbed a hand across his face and when he spoke, his voice was lower as well, and slightly unsteady.

"A better place would've been one with him and my mom still in it. Where I could celebrate his birthday with them and maybe a family of my own, not dread the day and spend it wallowing in self-pity by myself. But I can't, because another thing he left me was his complete inability to have meaningful relationships. I have less than a handful of people in my life and most of the time, I'm pushing them away or hurting them," he finished, waving his hand at her face, the cut on her temple. He was studying her intently, a reserved expression on his face, probably trying to figure out whether he'd scared her. "And I don't want to do that anymore, Pepper. I don't want to do it alone, but most of the time, it just seems easier."

She had no idea what to say to that, so she did the next best thing and closed the distance between them, wrapping her arms tightly around his shoulders. Of course he froze for a moment, not used to this at all, but she held on tight and eventually he relaxed, putting his hands on her back.

"It's not easier, Tony, not in the long run, and it's definitely not better. Even you aren't invincible or made of stone, we all know that. We stay with you because we want to. Because we love _you_ , not Iron Man and not the company. Okay? Please, just believe that. You can really start over now, make a new legacy."

He didn't say anything, just lightly nodded his head. Pepper squeezed one last time before letting him go, immediately noticing that the wound on his chest was starting to bleed again. She took his hand and firmly dragged him to a stool, getting some medical supplies.

He downplayed the wince every time she touched the antiseptic wipe to his chest, but he didn't make any offhand comment. ("Ouch, Pep, you trying to kill me? I should probably take you out of my will then.") He was clearly worn out by admitting all that, and knowing him, he was feeling pretty vulnerable, so she just continued in silence, which surprisingly wasn't uncomfortable.

"It's not that deep, luckily. I'll put some butterfly stitches on it to be sure."

"Thanks, Pep," he replied, and the nickname involuntarily made her smile.

She could feel his eyes on her as she fixed up the cut, and was it her or was the workshop warming up?

"I don't know what I'd do without you, Pepper, I hope you know that. Or, well, I know what I'd do, but it wouldn't..." he hesitated, struggling for words. "I guess what I want to say is that I'm grateful you're here. And I know I should tell you that more often."

His expression was completely unguarded and she knew how difficult that was for him. She smiled at him knowingly. "I know you are. You show it more than you think. I can see right through you, Tony Stark."

She'd meant it to come off as teasing, but suddenly there's an intensity in his eyes that makes her feel breathless. She put the last butterfly closure in place and realised that they were still entirely too close to one another.

"You sure seem to," he agreed, speaking barely above a whisper—and then he was leaning in and she literally couldn't do anything else but do the same. Until a voice sounded from upstairs.

"Pepper, Tony? All good down there?"

They jumped apart in an instant, Tony swearing under his breath. Rhodey and Happy had really picked the worst time to arrive. Their heads gingerly poked through the garage door.

Pepper exhaled shakily, walking over to a nearby cabinet to put everything away. "Come on down, guys."

She noticed Rhodey's eyes scan her when he walked in, and Happy looked around, expecting more damage, probably. Tony stood up, walking around a bit uncomfortably as the two step closer.

"I can see you've done the fixing up already," Rhodey said when he saw Tony's chest, gaze flitting over to Pepper as he slightly tilted his head, trying to convey his double meaning.

"Always does," Tony replied, smiling at her, and the redhead could feel her cheeks starting to glow.

"How are you doing, Tony?"

"Better," he said, walking up to his friends, addressing Rhodey. "I'm sorry I made you worry, come out all this way."

The Lieutenant Colonel nods in return. "It's okay, Tony, you know that. And you know how upset _I_ get when I think about that one night after I got my first army medal. Haunts me to this day."

Pepper rolled her eyes at his attempt at cutting the tension, but Tony actually chuckled and went to hug his best friend. He moved over to Happy next, who was still side-eyeing him a bit.

"Happy. I'm sorry for how I behaved before. I wasn't myself."

"Never again, Boss. You're better than that," Happy told him firmly, glancing at Pepper.

"Never again. Or you take everyone and leave," Tony assured him, just as decisive. Happy offered his hand, which his boss shook eagerly, slapping his bodyguard on the shoulder.

Pepper was sure she would never understand the relationships between those three men, but she had to smile at their antics anyway.

"I don't know about you fellas, but I'm starving. I'll go see what's in the fridge and make us something," she suggested, partly wanting to step away for a moment to get all her ducks in a row. Before any of them could reply, she walked to the main entrance and went up the marble stairs.

"That was weird," Happy commented, sending a suspicious look Tony's way, who grimaced slightly. "What happened?"

"Yeah, you guys are almost as bad as that guy Coulson. Awful timing. When you came in, I was sort of... about to kiss Pepper."

"What?!"

"Again?"

"I mean, she kept pushing me to tell her what's wrong, and then I did and she was saying things about starting over and how she knew I appreciate her in my life and I just..." He looked at his friends desperately, running a hand through his hair.

"You told her that?" Rhodey asked a bit incredulously and a tiny bit impressed. When Tony nodded, he let out a low whistle.

"And what did she do? Was she going to kiss you back?"

"I think so? I mean, she wasn't about to slap me or anything. Am I crazy?"

"As whole? Probably. To want Pepper? Of course not, Tony, she's amazing. But you need to be serious about this and ask her about it."

"I am, Rhodey. Pepper's different, she has been from the start and you know it."

"Oh God," Happy said, looking as if he was about to keel over. "This isn't good for my heart. Tony wants to be in a relationship. Are the four horsemen here yet?"

Tony glared at his friend half-heartedly, but Rhodey smirked and stepped closer, putting his arm around Tony's shoulder. "Welcome to adulthood, Tony Stark. My advice: take a few days to think everything through, and if you still feel the same, go for it. Preferably, I'd like to be there when you do."

"You two suck," Tony replied, smiling despite himself.

\---

Soon after, Rhodey was helping Pepper cook up some pasta bolognaise while Happy got some bread from a nearby store and Tony took a power nap.

Their dinner was a bit more quiet than usual, but between the four of them, there was always laughter. Tony felt like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders; not quite the weight of the world, but certainly that of the past. Maybe, someday soon, he'd learn something about his father that would make his happy memories more important than the others. The story he remembered was only one side of it, after all.

After a while, Pepper began to doze off, and Rhodey suggested she go home and rest up a bit. She refused the offer of a guest room or a ride home from Happy, but smiled gratefully when Tony offered to walk her out.

"Thanks again, Pep," he said, tapping the doorframe restlessly.

"Are you going to be okay?"

"Yeah. I got these idiots to keep me company tonight. You've done enough."

She smiled again and looked him over for a second, seemingly contemplating something. She leaned forward quickly and pressed her lips to Tony's for just a few seconds, drawing back with a smile. "Don't count out a family just yet, Mr. Stark."

Tony just stared dumbfounded as she closed the door behind her. With a huge grin he returned to Happy and Rhodey, who exclaimed "Apocalypse!" from where they were standing at the surveillance wall.

"If I haven't told you before, you two _really_ suck."


End file.
